ASCTSV1R: The Terror of Death
by James D. Fawkes
Summary: A simple change to the battle between Hinata and Neji can cause a drastic change to the events that followed. NH


The final strike, the sixty-fifth palm, came at her, throwing her back a few feet where she collapsed to the ground.

"This is the difference in talent that will never change," Neji said acidly. "This is the destiny that you cannot alter."

Hinata stood shakily, "It's n-not over…"

"Just give up," Neji told her. "Go back to being the weakling of the Main Branch. Go back to suffering at the fate of our family's differences."

"You s-say you can see everything," Hinata said, her breathing labored. "But I think you're o-overlooking s-something. Th-the one s-suffering from the differences in o-our family…is you."

In a flash, several Jounin had leapt from the stands, restraining Neji from delivering the final blow, one that would ultimately kill her. Hinata collapsed backwards, unconscious before she hit the ground. For Naruto, the descent seemed to take forever, as if time was slowing down just for the purpose of torturing him with the scene.

Blood pounded in his ears, a slow pulse that was so deafening, he was surprised no one else heard it. His hands gripped the railing, the tempered steel bending under his iron grasp. Horror danced in his eyes, taunting him with his greatest fear, and yet, he could do nothing. Finally, Hinata hit the floor, her hair splayed out behind her head.

**A Simple Change: The Sharingan Volume 1: Rebirth:  
The Terror of Death  
By: **James D. Fawkes**  
— o.0.O.O.0.o — **

Air rushed passed his ears as he catapulted himself from the stands, kneeling at Hinata's side in an instant. He could feel tears of anguish and fear creep into his eyes, but he ignored them in favor of checking on his most precious person.

"Hinata-chan!" he cried, shaking her by her shoulders. "Hinata-chan, come on!"

He was barely aware of the silence around him, or of the tiny water droplets that trickled down his face and fell to the floor. Persistently, he shook her lightly, trying to stir her from her sleep, "Hinata-chan!"

He didn't care how pathetic he must have looked. It didn't matter. What mattered was that Hinata-chan lived, so he continued to shake her, hoping she would open her eyes, "Come on, Hinata-chan, wake up!"

Still, she did not move, and Naruto broke down, crying into her shirt. Everyone else was silent, and no one wanted to tear him away. Several people looked away out of pity, and others wiped their own tears.

"How pathetic," Naruto's sorrowful heaves stopped short as the words entered his ears. "A loser crying over another loser."

His anger and fury, so raw and uncontrollable, spoke volumes of how ill prepared he had been. He growled, subconsciously tapping into the Kyubi's chakra.

"You bastard," he hissed.

He turned and charged towards Neji, his gleaming red eyes wide with fury, "You bastard!"

The Jounin that had previously restrained the Hyuga prodigy moved in, Kurenai, Asuma, Gekkou, and Kakashi all holding Naruto from ripping Neji's pale throat open.

"Let go of me!" Naruto shouted, his fiery rage palpable in the air. "Let me go!"

The Jounin did not respond but to tighten their grip on him, preventing him from reaching his enemy. At this, his anger rose, clouding his vision with red. He struggled, desperate to break free of their grasp, but could not wrench himself loose.

"LET GO OF ME!" he yelled again, wriggling and jerking. "This guy…HE HURT HINATA-CHAN!"

He pulled one hand free, reaching out to grab Neji, the bastard smirking at him victoriously, as though he had won some great battle. The smug look on his face only served to anger Naruto further as the Jounin managed to capture his arm again. He could not break their grip on his body.

"YOU BASTARD!" he shouted at Neji. Flaming red chakra surrounded him as he twisted his hand free a second time. He swiped his elongated fingernails at the Hyuga prodigy, leaving four crimson trails in the air, "I'LL CARVE THE TERROR OF DEATH INTO YOUR PUNY LITTLE BODY!!"

Jerk, "COME ON!"

Twist, "COME ON!"

Wriggle, "I'M—RIGHT—HERE!"

With an explosion of Chakra, the Jounin were blown away and the red energy expanded to fill the room, "SKEITH!"

Kakashi couldn't help but gasp as the leviathan rejoined the world, its huge black body barely fitting inside of the stadium. It threw back its crowned head, its chest jutting out as it let out a deafening roar. Kakashi could feel the temperature drop as a cold terror filled the room, most too frightened to even scream. Seeing his opportunity, Kakashi dove forward, grabbing his female student and disappearing in a poof of Shunshin, off to the hospital.

An insane cackle, this time in Naruto's voice, echoed throughout the room as Skeith pulled its arms back, a scythe appearing within its grasp. A blade of red energy formed, and one last heave of a chuckle could be heard, followed by two bone-chilling words, "Say goodbye."

There was a flash of red as the beast swung his weapon, and everyone closed their eyes to the scene for fear of being blinded.

When they opened their eyes again, Naruto stood over the mangled body of the Hyuga prodigy, staring at his hands with an insane grin on his face. A quiet, low chuckle could be heard, and quickly evolved into a full-blown maniacal laugh. The spectators could only watch as the once calm, happy blonde changed into something far scarier than any human had the right to be.

Throughout the stadium, Naruto's dark cackle resounded, bouncing off of the ceiling, walls, and floor.

** — o.0.O.O.0.o — **

**A/N Merry Christmas!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or (Dot) Hack. I'm not a member of Cyber Connect Corp., nor am I Kishimoto Masashi. **

**I recently read chapter 14 of Team 8, which is a great fic, and I suddenly got the idea for this. This is what could have happened in chapter 5 of ASCTSV1R. All it took was a little change in the way Hinata was defeated and this is as far as it could have gone. Some might say that Naruto was OOC for his personality in ASCTS, but I think that, if he would flip out so greatly when Haku did what he did, then he would go even further against someone he didn't like.**

**Overall? I like how this turned out. It may not have been as long as I would have liked, but it's still pretty good if you ask me.**

**Review! Tell me what you think about this!**

_**I'll carve the Terror of Death…into your puny little body!**_

**James Daniel Fawkes**

_James Daniel Fawkes_**(Signature best viewed in **_**Wendy Medium**_** font style)**


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